and she wanted to trust him, but the circumstances of his inheritance had left her thoroughly confused and made her want to tread carefully where he was concerned. What could have led her aunt to leave the house to be shared by two people? It was very odd.
To give Matt his due, though, he’d kept this place going after Aunt Annie’s death—he’d had the leaky barn roof fixed, her closest neighbours told her, and he’d made sure the lawns were trimmed regularly. He’d taken good care of the hens, too, and she ought to be grateful to him for all that.
‘I see you’ve made a start on picking the fruit.’ He looked at the peach tree, trained in a fan shape across the south wall where it received the most sunshine. Nearby there were raspberry canes, alongside blackberry and redcurrant bushes.
She gave a wry smile. ‘Yes…I only had to touch the peaches and they came away from the branches, so I guessed it was time to gather them in. And I had to pick the raspberries before the birds made away with the entire crop. Actually, I’ve put some of the fruit to one side for you, back in the kitchen. I was going to bring it over to you later today.’
‘That was good of you. Thanks.’ He smiled, looking at her appreciatively, his glance wandering slowly over her slender yet curvaceous figure, and making the breath catch in her throat. She was wearing light blue denim shorts and a crop top with thin straps that left her arms bare and revealed the pale gold of her midriff. All at once, under that all-seeing gaze, she felt decidedly underdressed. Her face flushed with heat, probably from a combination of the burning rays of the sun and the fact that he was standing beside her, making her conscious of her every move.
She took off her gardening gloves and brushed a stray tendril of honey-blonde hair from her face with the back of her hand. ‘There’s so much produce, I’m not quite sure what my aunt did with it all. I thought I might take some along to the neighbours along the lane.’
‘I’m sure they’ll appreciate that. Annie sold some of it, flowers, too, and eggs, to the local shopkeepers, and there were always bunches of cut flowers on sale by the roadside at the front of the house, along with baskets of fruit. She trusted people to put the money in a box, and apparently they never let her down.’
‘That sounds like a good idea. I’ll have to try it,’ she said, getting to her feet. She was a bit stiff from being in the same position for so long, and he put out a hand to help her up.
‘Thanks.’ His grasp was strong and supportive and that unexpected human contact was strangely comforting. Warm colour brushed her cheeks once more as his gaze travelled fleetingly over her long, shapely legs.
‘You could do with a gardener’s knee pad—one of those covered foam things…’
‘Yes, you’re probably right.’ She frowned. ‘I’m beginning to think that looking after this property and the land and everything that comes with it is going to be a full-time job.’
‘It is, especially at this time of year,’ he agreed. ‘But maybe you could get someone in to help out if it becomes too much for you to handle. Funds permitting, of course.’
She nodded, going over to one of the redwood garden chairs and sitting down. ‘I suppose, sooner or later, I’ll have to make up my mind what I’m going to do.’
She waved him to the seat close by. A small table connected the two chairs, and on it she had laid out a glass jug filled with iced apple juice. She lifted the cover that was draped over it to protect the contents from the sunshine. ‘Would you like a cold drink?’
‘That’d be great, thanks.’ He came to sit beside her and she brought out a second glass from the cupboard beneath the table.
She filled both glasses, passing one to him before she drank thirstily from hers. ‘It’s lovely out here, so serene, but it’s really hot today. Great if you’re relaxing but not so good when you’re working.’ She lifted the glass, pressing it against her forehead to savour the coolness.
‘How are you coping, generally?’
‘All right, I think. I came here to rest and recuperate but the way things turned out it’s been good for me to keep busy. I’ve been exploring the village and the seaside in between looking after this place. The only thing I’ve left completely alone is anything to do with the beehives. I think I’m supposed to have equipment of some sort, aren’t I, before I go near them?’
‘There are a couple of outfits in the stable block. I can show you how to go on with them, whenever you’re ready.’
She nodded. ‘Thanks. I’ll take you up on that. I’m just not quite ready to tackle beekeeping on my own.’ She drank more juice and studied him musingly. Despite her reservations about him, this was one area where she’d better let him guide her. ‘Did you help my aunt with the hives?’
‘I did, from time to time. She needed some repairs done to the stands and while I was doing that she told me all about looking after them. She said she talked to the bees, told them what was happening in her life—I don’t think she was serious about that, but she seemed to find it calming and it helped to clear her thoughts.’
‘Hmm. Perhaps I should try it. Maybe it will help me get my mind back together.’
‘How’s that going?’
She pulled a face. ‘I recall bits and pieces every now and again. Especially when I’m in the house or out here, in the garden…not so much in the village and round about. I was told Aunt Annie brought me up after my parents died, and I know…I feel inside…that she loved me as if I was her own daughter.’
Her voice faltered. ‘I…I miss her. I keep seeing her as a lively, wonderful old lady, but she was frail towards the end, wasn’t she? That’s what the solicitor said…that she had a heart attack, but I don’t remember any of that.’
‘Perhaps your mind is blocking it out.’
‘Yes, that might be it. Even so, I feel as though I’m grieving inside, even though I can’t remember everything.’ She was troubled. Wouldn’t Matt have been here when she had come back to see her aunt, and again at the time of the funeral? Everyone told her she’d done that, that she’d visited regularly, yet she had no memory of it, or of him.
She straightened her shoulders, glancing at him. ‘Anyway, I’m glad I came back to this house. I was in two minds about it at first, but somehow I feel at peace here, as though this is where I belong.’
‘I’m glad about that. Annie would have been pleased.’
‘Yes, I think she would.’ She studied him thoughtfully. ‘It sounds as though you knew her well—even though you had only been back here for a short time.’
She hesitated for a moment and then decided to say what was on her mind. ‘How was it that you came to be living here?’ She wasn’t sure what she expected him to say. He would hardly admit to wheedling his way into an elderly lady’s confidence, would he?
He lifted his glass and took a long swallow of the cold liquid. Saffi watched him, mesmerised by the movement of his sun-bronzed throat, and by the way his strong fingers gripped the glass.
He placed it back on the table a moment later. ‘I’d started a new job in the area and I was looking for a place to live. Accommodation was in short supply, it being the height of the holiday season, but I managed to find a flat near the hospital. It was a bit basic, though, and after a while I began to hanker for a few home comforts…’
‘Oh? Such as…?’ She raised a quizzical brow and he grinned.
‘Hot and cold running water, for a start, and some means of preparing food. There was a gas ring, but it took forever to heat a pan of beans. And as to the plumbing—I was lucky if it worked at all. It was okay taking cold baths in the summer, but come wintertime it was bracing, to say the least. I spoke to the landlord about it, but he kept making excuses and delaying—he obviously didn’t want to spend money on getting things fixed.’
‘So my aunt invited